Phantom
by Shelbey
Summary: Our Time is Here, 6 of 18. Mitchie watched him play, her eyes wide in wonder. He was so gifted, and his singing so masterful that she couldn’t hold back her tears. Nate/Mitchie


**AN** I just want to say, this one is a little, tiny bit darker than the other ones (which were nice and fluffy). Just saying, Nate's bitter. Also, if you don't know who Christine Daaé is, I HIGHLY recommend watching _The Phantom of the Opera_, the 2004 movie edition. Or the play, if you can, which is AMAZING.

**Summary: **Mitchie watched him play, her eyes wide in wonder. He was so gifted, and his singing so masterful that she couldn't hold back her tears. Nate/Mitchie

_It is just one Cinderella story after another isn't it?_ Mitchie thought, laying on her bunk in her cabin. Final Jam was over, now, and she had made amends with Tess and with Shane. She had performed, she had managed to do the one thing she had thought she had never been able to in front of all those people. It had felt amazing, and it felt like her night couldn't get any better.

Everything was completely, and totally perfect. At least, it had been. Until she had stumbled across someone playing the piano, singing a song in the most beautiful voice she had ever heard. It was a boy's voice, but not one she could recognize, nor a song she had ever heard before. But his words rang in her head over and over again, with such clarity that he might have been there with her, singing it to her. And she could safely assume this was how Shane felt when he had heard her sing.

_When I hold you in my arms_

_I know that it's forever_

_I just gotta let you know_

_I never wanna let you go_

_'Cause when you look me in the eyes..._

Stupid her though, hadn't seen who it was. As soon as she entered the room, he wasn't there anymore. No one was. Just the grand piano mocking her with the keys that didn't play anything and the words that were left to echo in her head. She ran a hand through her auburn hair. It was driving her insane, now.

She hummed the tune to herself, following along with the words in her mind. Though unlike Shane, she didn't have all summer to find out who this mysterious person was. She had one day, one more day to find out who had the amazing voice and the amazing song before she totally lost her mind. "What did I do to deserve this?" she muttered to herself.

"What now?" She glanced up and saw Caitlyn smiling at her from the doorway. Caitlyn Geller, her best friend at Camp Rock, and for a while her only friend. Mitchie had already told her everything about the song and the singer and what she had heard, and though Caitlyn thought she was crazy, she told her she'd keep an ear out for her. "Don't tell me you're talking about Shane are you?"

Mitchie smiled. "No, I'm not. Though... I don't know. I'd rather just be friends with Shane, at least until I figure out who was singing that song!"

"You're _still_ on about that?" Mitchie nodded and Caitlyn sighed. "How did it go again?"

She took a deep breath and sang it for her, but was cut off short when someone let out a loud yelp outside. Startled, the girls ran out the door and glanced around. "Hello?" Caitlyn shouted, walking down the steps with Mitchie right behind her. "Is everything okay out here?" They looked around the immediate area but didn't see anything, trying to figure out who had made that noise and if they were all right.

"I guess they were fine," Mitchie mentioned to Caitlyn.

She shrugged. "I guess so."

--

"_When you look me in the eyes..._" Mitchie was suddenly awake, feeling very groggy. She shook her head and put a hand to her eyes, trying to figure out what was going on. She was having such a good dream, though it trickled from her mind like water cupped in her hands. "_Tell me that you love me, every thing's all right._"

She sat up so suddenly stars popped into her eyes, and it took her a moment to clear them away. "_When you're right here by my side_." She recognized the voice, she knew that was the song. It was there, even though the words were a little different from the portion she heard yesterday. Silently she climbed out of bed, creeping to the door and looking out. "_When you look me in the eyes, I catch a glimpse of heaven..._"

No one seemed to be out there. Mitchie was about write it off as hearing things, but she saw a shadow of someone walking away from her cabin. "_I find my paradise, when you look me in the eyes_." She swallowed and tiptoed down the cabin steps, following the singer, feeling uncannily like Christine Daaé. The voice continued in the song, and she continued to follow, tracing his steps as quietly as she could. He led her to the mess hall and allowed the door to close silently behind him.

As she was tempted to turn back, but she heard the piano playing inside and voice continued to sing. "_More and more, I start to realize I can reach my tomorrow, I can hold my head up high, and it's all because you're by my side._" She peeked in the the window and tried to see who was playing, but it was so dark in there, that she couldn't see who it was.

"Who's in here?" she asked, stepping inside and trying to make out the figure sitting at the piano. The playing abruptly stopped, and he looked back at her. Irritated that she still could not see his face, she demanded, "Who are you?" Suddenly a small , battery-powered light flickered on, and she winced at the sudden brightness, squinting her eyes. "Nate?"

"Mitchie?" She didn't notice the harsh tone in his voice

She let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's you. You're the person I heard singing." For a moment he was silent, before nodding. She continued, "You're amazing, Nate, just... wow. Why does Shane usually sing lead if you're that amazing?"

His face turned bitter, and Mitchie was stunned by the sudden change in expression. "Because Shane always gets what he wants, what else is new?"

"What?" Mitchie asked, her voice soft. Nate turned his head away and back to the piano, his fingers dancing across the keys as he hummed the melody of his song to himself. She watched him silently and began to sing along quietly, "_When you look me in the eyes, tell me that you love me. Every thing's all right when you're right here by my side._" His hands froze over the keys and he looked back at her, making her cheeks flush. "Sorry."

He shook his head. "That was perfect, Mitchie," he said, followed by something that sounded like, "Shane gets it again," under his breath.

"What's that mean?" she asked, walking slowly over to him and sitting on the bench beside him, her hand on his arm. "What did Shane get, Nate?"

"Everything!" he finally blurted out, dissonance sounding from the piano as he rested his elbow on the keys and his forehead in his hand, a strange look of defeat that didn't seem to fit Nate's usually confident demeanor. "As long as I can remember, everyone has always liked Shane more than me. Always. He's been the front man, and that's all that ever matters! He gets everything. Everything! Including--"

He cut himself off and stood up from the bench, nearly toppling Mitchie backwards off of it. "Nate?" she breathed as he stared down at the keys of the piano, as if they were unfamiliar to him even though he could play them beautifully.

Nate looked away from her awkwardly. "Including you."

"Me?" Mitchie was stunned. What did she have to do with anything? Nate's eyes were soft, and her heart skipped a beat. He sat back down and fixed the bench, pulling her closer to him as he began to play the song again.

"Please, sing with me," he pleaded quietly. She nodded slowly, resting her head on his shoulder. _"When I hold you in my arms I know that it's forever. I just gotta let you know, I never wanna let you go 'cause when you look me in the eyes..._" Their voices seemed to intertwine perfectly, above the sound of the piano playing and in the quiet nighttime of Camp Rock. Nate paused in his singing, and Mitchie did soon after, looking up at him in confusion.

He dipped his head down, their eyes meeting for a moment before he gently pressed his lips to hers. At first Mitchie was surprised, but she felt her heart pounding as she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him closer. They broke free, staring at each other, both looking stunned. "Nate?" she questioned softly, her hand tangled in his curly hair and his hands holding onto her waist.

"Yes?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Shane never got me." Mitchie kissed Nate again, turning off the light resting on the piano.


End file.
